Vodeo Games’ union was formed because workers “care so much about the work they do and they want more say in how it’s done,” says Vodeo producer Myriame Lachapelle. Polygon, but Paizo comes after the scandal. Paizo’s union was formed in the midst of public controversy about the company is reported to be exploitative , such as overwork, over-reliance on redundant and underpaid workforce. Of the 77 employees, a vast majority voted to unify soon after. Andrew White, Paizo’s front-end engineering lead and a 10-year veteran of the gaming industry, said the industry volatility convinced him that consolidation could benefit his life. .
“There needs to be more social safety nets than there are,” he said. “And the fact is, anyone can be fired at any time, no matter how good a job they are doing, no matter how important they are to the operation of the company, no matter how long they have” have been with the company, no matter how excellent their service record is – it’s not good for everyone, it’s not good for the company and it’s not good for those who have to receive back the negligence when that person is gone. ” (United States, Most jobs are discretionary; game industry is the norm.)
Paizo voluntarily recognized the alliance, which Paizo’s vice president of marketing and licensing, Jim Butler, said was the “right thing to do”. “No one felt that the tactic of undermining the alliance would represent what Paizo stands for,” Butler said. “Some management members have family members who are unionized, and there is a general feeling that union is a force for good that we want to embrace.”
In lieu of formal unions at larger companies, special organizing groups were formed this year at Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft. The ABK Workers Union (Activision Blizzard King) and A Better Ubisoft have published an open letter and petition calling for change. This year, ABK Workers Union organized two walkways to protest allegations of sexism at Activision Blizzard and CEO Bobby Kotick continues to lead. The third move occurred in early December, when more than 200 Activision Blizzard King employees joined 60 employees at Activision-owned Raven Software in go out for days to protest the layoffs of 12 QA testers. The ABK Workers Union launched a strike and layoff fund that received more than $200,000 in its first day. That same day, ABK Workers Union issued union cards. When asked about Activision’s views on the impact of the internal labor movement on business, Activision spokesman Kelvin Liu said: “We cannot thank our workforce. , who are the true lifeblood of the company… Their resilience is nothing short of inspiring and they have done an extraordinary job throughout the year. Throughout this journey, employee input has been instrumental in helping our new management team develop new innovations and foster a new culture for everyone at Activision Blizzard. ”
Measuring the popularity and strength of employee support for these efforts is challenging. 1/5 of Activision Blizzard employees signed suggestions calls for the removal of Kotick. When it comes to making the labor movement alive for game makers, Jessica Gonzalez, a former Activision employee who is helping lead the company’s organizational efforts, said “informative.” bias and those who maintain the status quo make it difficult. There are many people who benefit from the system in place, and those who hold positions of power. When you want to change things for the better, those who have benefited will see it as oppression. “
